Presently, liners and gaskets are attached to the inside surface of a refrigerator door using threaded fasteners and reinforcing strips of some type. This technique requires that a workman deflect a portion of the gasket out of the way, position the reinforcing strip and then install 60 or more fasteners using a power tool to secure the two gaskets to the two doors which cover the cooling and freezing compartments. Needless to say, such a fastening technique requires a large amount of time for the laborer to complete and does not readily adapt itself to automation. Further, when the gasket loses its flexibility, tears, or the like, and requires replacement, this laborious, time consuming procedure must be repeated twice in removing the old gasket and replacing it with a new one.
The present invention overcomes the above problems by providing a spring retainer strip that can be positioned in either of two staging positions and quickly and easily moved to the other staging position. This permits easy installation and replacement of gaskets and/or liners.
The spring retainer strip comprises a generally rectangular body portion which extends the length of the gasket portion to be secured and a plurality of generally U-shaped spring fingers spaced along and projecting from one side face of the body portion. The spring fingers can take any of several forms including that of a bi-stable spring member or of a resilient expansion finger which, in its retention mode, has a dimension which exceeds the length of the opening it occupies. The spacing of the spring fingers corresponds to the spacing of openings in both the panel of the refrigerator door and in the liner. Each spring strip configuration has means to permit the clamping force exerted by the strip to be easily disengaged.
This spring retainer strip permits a novel assembly method to be employed. The liner can be placed with its apertures generally overlying those in the door panel. The spring strips can then be positioned in a so called first staging position in which the spring fingers are inserted in the aligned apertures of the liner and the door panel and serve to retain the liner against shifting. In this position, the body portion of each of the retainer strips lies at some distance from the side face of the door permitting the gasket to be positioned with a portion thereof underlying the body of each strip. The strips may then be shifted to a second staging position in which the gasket and liner are resiliently but firmly clamped to the side face of the refrigerator. Easy gasket replacement can be effected by merely shifting the spring strips back to their first staging positions utilizing the means provided.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.